Damage of the torpedo

Oral Histories

Showboat Torpedoed: 15 September 1942

On September 15, 1942, Japanese submarine I-19 quickly fired six long-range torpedoes at the U.S. carrier WASP. Three torpedoes struck their target causing such damage that the task force commander ordered WASP to be sunk that night. The remaining three torpedoes raced on across several miles into a second carrier force. One slammed into the U.S. destroyer O’BRIEN that would break up several weeks later due to severe hull damage.

Another blasted NORTH CAROLINA on her port (left) side just forward of the 12 inch think armor belt designed to protect her from torpedoes. The enormous blast shook the Ship and crew and sent tons of oil and water skyward. Tons more water quickly flooded into the resulting 32 by 18 foot hole (see the photograph) causing the Ship to lean, a situation the crew quickly corrected by purposefully flooding compartments on the opposite side. Five men were killed and 23 were wounded.

"On the 15th of September 1942, reveille sounded at 0345 and this was followed by dawn general quarters at 0530. After lunch I went up on the Signal Bridge to do one of my frequent visits to that area. At about 1215, GQ (General Quarters, which means man your battle stations) sounded. A Japanese four-engine patrol plane had been sighted. The carrier WASP sent out their combat air patrol to intercept it. At about 1450 the WASP was noted smoking. There was a small wisp of smoke drifting astern, but this was increasing rapidly.

Her distance from us was probably about eight to ten miles. At this time she made a port turn and headed for us. As she came about, it could be seen that she had a bad list to starboard. Smoke was pouring from beneath the flight deck. I had a signal bridge long glass and was looking at her most of the time. I could see that the fire was all below decks consuming most of the hanger deck.

I could see a few men on the flight deck high on the port side forward. As she came around to a course parallel to us, I could see planes along the side at different places. At 1453 there was a big red flash and the ship was covered with smoke. Distance prevented us from hearing the explosion, but it must have been a magazine or gasoline. The smoke mushroomed up to several thousand feet. About then I saw a destroyer on our port side calling by light. I yelled to a signalman and pointed this out. A second later electrician McDonald yelled ‘torpedo wake.’ Everyone ran to the starboard side to avoid the blast. I didn't know what side it was on, so I just stood there. I took one step backward away from the shield and it hit. The ship jumped. You could feel 35,000 tons jumping several feet in the air. I never had any idea that there would be such an explosion from a torpedo. The torpedo hit on our port side opposite turret two at frame 65. The ship rose and dropped and I found myself on my back. I looked up in time to catch the shower of water that came down. When I got up, smoke was everywhere. The smoke smelled like fuel oil. By then we were in a hard turn to starboard and the ship was heeling to port. We had increased our speed to 25 knots. We were running at 15(knots) when hit. I snapped out of it about then and decided it was time I manned my battle station, so I made a dash for a down ladder and ran into a real traffic jam. I finally got there and sat down with my heart pounding, wondering if one torpedo would sink us or just what would happen. I also wondered what had happened to the old WASP. Our 16-inch magazines were flooded to prevent explosion. The forward head and the wing compartments along 2nd division were flooded with oil and water. The 1st and 2nd, E, and CR division living compartments were filled with smoke. Some oil and water got into the 1st and 2nd division areas. We lost 5 men. One was trapped in the forward head and was believed to have been knocked out by the explosion and drowned when the compartment flooded. Three men were killed by the explosion. They were taking soundings in a wing compartment right over the spot where the torpedo hit. One man was blown overboard and not recovered."

- Charles M. Paty, Jr.

Captain Ben Blee, USN, Ret. explains the torpedo experience

"The Showboat took a torpedo (September 15, 1942) on the port side forward of amidships. I was knocked ass over teakettle over and through a gun blister, but was able to make it to my battle station. The torpedo punctured some fuel tanks and started a fire, which got into the lower handling room of turret 2. The fuel was actually burning on the floor of the projectile room. The sprinklers were activated and the turret crew came streaming out the hatch with the smoke in swift pursuit. The word was passed ‘Stand by to abandon ship’ because of turret 2 went, the whole ship would explode like a Chinese firecracker, right down the middle where all the 5-inch magazines were. It so happened that we were one lifejacket short, for some reason, so I didn’t have one. My phone talker, assessing the situation, said, ‘Here Mr. Gallagher, take my lifejacket, I’m a good swimmer.’ Fortunately, the situation improved so abandoning the ship wasn’t necessary, but I’ll always remember that young sailor and his thoughtfulness."

- Captain Edward F. Gallagher, USN (Ret)

"I was down taking a shower, didn’t have a stitch of clothes on, had just gotten out of the shower, and had the towel going on my back drying my back. There was a big explosion. I couldn’t hear anything, and the next thing I knew I was in the water and oil and there were two other guys pretty close to me, but I somehow got out. But I’ll never forget it, the sight that I saw. I saw the prettiest roses you ever laid you eyes on. I say my name, at the time I was from Lynchburg, Virginia. And I saw my name in the Lynchburg paper, ‘Walter T. Babcock,’ and I’m going to tell you like is was, ‘Walter T. Babcock, killed in action.’ And I don’t remember getting from down the third deck up to topside. The only thing I know, and I’m telling the truth, I saw my mother and father. One caught on hand and one caught the other and I actually talked to them."

- Walter T. Babcock

"I knew that the WASP was torpedoed so I went to my battle station right away and I was sitting up on top of Sky 2 before we got hit (by a torpedo). One of the fire control men, Martineau, who is dead now, he was the hairiest guy we ever saw. He was in the shower at the time. He was all soaped up and when we got hit, he took from the shower and was running up on the port side of the ship and I am looking at him go by on the main deck and all I can see is hair and soap suds. No clothes on. He went into turret one. That was his battle station. There was a fire in the magazines so they flooded the magazine and they abandoned turret one. Here comes Martineau, still with no clothes on, but soapsuds, running back down again. I was telling him about it afterwards. He said ‘Well, it wasn’t funny.’ I said, ‘ You weren’t sitting where I was.’"

- Harold A. Smith